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  1. #11
    Super Moderator curious aardvark's Avatar
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    had several of my PCB enclosure halves end up pretty significantly thicker (on the part that was against the build plate) than I designed them to be.
    The plate is not level.
    If it was the base thickness would be even and consistent.

    As far as the appearence of fdm parts go - they can look pretty damn good. use 0.1 layer height and the right filament and the layer lines are pretty much impossible to see. Some of the new pearlscent filaments are excellent at hiding layer lines.

    As fara s strength goes - that is very much down to the resin.
    Formlabs swear that their resins are a leats as good as fdm prints and they even have flexible filaments.
    But they are very expensive.

    So benefits of resin versus fdm.

    Fdm:
    cheap
    very little post processing
    really versatile - different filaments and nozzle diameters give a phenomenal variety of print parameters and qualities
    machines are easy to self service and modify

    resin:
    capable of really clean high resolution prints

    I would say that unless you are making small models like dnd figurines or have an unlimited budget, fdm is generally always going to be better.

  2. #12
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    We use Ender 3 pros and a number of different filament materials because the price of filament is quite low for commercial prototyping we have limited our selves to premium brands in each material for example a 70mm pressure vessel top with stout walls and internal thread to with working pressure 5 BAR required only 40g of nylon so less than £2 with premium nylon filament rather less than a pound in PET-G

    The setting you need for threaded holes need some experiment each because it varies each material but we use hole expansion on the cura slicer of 0.1 or 0.2 as a starting point.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by curious aardvark View Post
    The plate is not level. If it was the base thickness would be even and consistent. As far as the appearence of fdm parts go - they can look pretty damn good. use 0.1 layer height and the right filament and the layer lines are pretty much impossible to see. Some of the new pearlscent filaments are excellent at hiding layer lines. As fara s strength goes - that is very much down to the resin. Formlabs swear that their resins are a leats as good as fdm prints and they even have flexible filaments. But they are very expensive. So benefits of resin versus fdm.Fdm: cheapvery little post processingreally versatile - different filaments and nozzle diameters give a phenomenal variety of print parameters and qualitiesmachines are easy to self service and modifyresin: capable of really clean high resolution printsI would say that unless you are making small models like dnd figurines or have an unlimited budget, fdm is generally always going to be better.
    Hey curious aardvark! So I did level the plate several times.... I did it between almost each and every print I've done so far. The variance in thickness of the portion against the plate has been pretty substantial. In Fusion 360 my overall bottom case height was something along the lines of 10.6mm. The very first print came out shorter in overall height than the 10.6mm (it ended up with a thinner base, actually), the next print came out a bit taller than 10.6mm (thicker at the base), and the final one I tried came out even taller (also thicker at the base). I then tried printing the top half, and the initial one came out too tall, and the one after that came out even taller... they both had a thicker base as well. The build plate leveling bolt isn't loose or anything either, so I've found this to be pretty bazaar. Especially since the first bottom half came out shorter than it should have. Attached are some pics of the enclosure differences.Thanks for the tip on the pearl filaments... I'll definitely keep that in mind if I decide that sort of appearance might work out for anything I'm ever doing with FDM printing. That's definitely a pretty solid list of pros and cons, I appreciate that! It does seem that overall FDM is just more.... practical and perhaps just simpler to use. I did end up ordering the QIDI Tech "X-Max" last night, and ordered some TPU filament for making some seals and such, ABS filament for making PCB enclosures, and ASA filament for anything I make that may be used/tested outdoors. Maybe I'll order some standard PLA stuff too just in case I want to practice some stuff on something less expensive first. Perhaps some carbon fiber PLA is also on the list, but the NylonX (carbon fiber-infused nylon) certain looks pretty useful for some tougher real-word-use stuff. Not sure what I'd use it for right off the top of my head, but I'm sure I'd find some stuff to make with it.Now I just have to do some research and decide how I want to store all my filament. Putting it in the over or a dehydrator for hours before I use it just won't be feasible at all, so looking into a couple solutions on that As always, thank youuuuuu!!!
    Attached Images Attached Images

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gambo View Post
    We use Ender 3 pros and a number of different filament materials because the price of filament is quite low for commercial prototyping we have limited our selves to premium brands in each material for example a 70mm pressure vessel top with stout walls and internal thread to with working pressure 5 BAR required only 40g of nylon so less than £2 with premium nylon filament rather less than a pound in PET-G

    The setting you need for threaded holes need some experiment each because it varies each material but we use hole expansion on the cura slicer of 0.1 or 0.2 as a starting point.
    Thanks for the info again Gambo! I'll definitely play around with those numbers. I'm currently using the free Chitubox slicer that came with my resin printer, but just order an FDM printer last night. The printer comes with .4mm nozzles so I'll be sourcing some .2mm nozzles, and will start experimenting with TPU, ABS, ASA, and probably something else that has carbon fiber infused in it. I'll be prototyping PCB enclosures for my own electronics, but I figure I may find some pretty cool, random stuff to do with carbon fiber

  5. #15
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    When you get your printer try the 0.4mm nozzle you might find that the result is OK even using 0.2mm slices.You might like to try PET-G I have recently been using it in place of nylon in bits that don't need the chemical resistance of nylon or Polyprop. It is much easier to print and very strong

  6. #16
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    Hi Agreyson I have had a look at the photographs of your parts, I assume there is a deeper mating part ! I don't of course know the exact largest dimension but I am guessing 8" or 200mm. These would be simple to make with FDM. few months ago we did several very similar boxes - we used ABS-x (ABSpro) and had minimal warping but to be honest If I was given the task again I would probably use PET-g or evem PLA-x3 (PLApro) both made by Mitsubishi Chemical Poly products in Holland and sold by several retailers as own brand products.

  7. #17
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    Print them n their back and with correct level setting the will be almost perfect and even at 0.2mm layer height the sids will be just faintly textured

  8. #18
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    I have just run a test piece 150 x 75 x 10mm 3mm section walls through our simulation and it would take about 2h 30m on our system at print speed for PET-G of 70mm/s to make a piece similar to the parts in your photos. Less time on a faster printer of course. Estimated 50G of Filament for 100 solid
    Last edited by Gambo; 02-04-2021 at 08:04 AM.

  9. #19
    I tend to use my .75 mm nozzle to make large items.. granted it does not looks as nice but if you design the part with the extrusion width in mind (.8mm) it can work really well. With .5mm layer height it gets done much faster even at 30mm second.. I don't sell my stuff so as long as all the holes line up and the thing is strong does not mastter what it looks like.. I prefer ABS for boxes, that way I can tap the holes and use M3 screws to hold on the lid and boards.

  10. #20
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    Good Morning Gambo! So the mating area, or any area above the internal bottom of the enclosures for that matter, remained the same across all 3 prints. They side walls are basically at the proper height if measured from the INSIDE of the enclosure, but it's the thickness of the area below the side walls that ended up being too thin on one print, but too thick on the other two. It's very puzzling.

    Totally appreciate the suggestions on the material! I had already received some "Octave" brand ABS filament that I ordered from Amazon the other day. What was it that you weren't happy with, using the ABS? Are you mainly after a little more rigidity with the PET-G or PLA-x3? I just looked and couldn't seem to find any variants of the PLA-x3 here in the United States. Thanks for the tip also on the print orientation and everything.... my QIDI X-Max just arrived last night..... I got it un-boxed last night and will go thru leveling the bed and all tonight, and hopefully try a test print tonight as well. I'll probably experiment with the standard PLA that came with the printer here for the first several prints, and then I'll start playing with the ABS, ASA, and TPU. I may order some PET-G or something else like that based on whatever you end up explaining about your preference over ABS.

    Pretty close guess on the enclosure dimensions! It's something like 132mm x 77mm x 10.6mm on the bottom half if I recall correctly.... with the top half being a few mm taller. Awesome guess Thanks for giving me that estimated time on your printer, I'll have to see how my new X-Max does with the standard PLA and other materials when I get a chance to try printing everything after several various test prints. Thanks again for the help so far!!

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